Immigrant status and neighborhood context on perceptions of police procedural justice

Objective This study examines the relationship between immigration generational status and people's perception of police procedural justice, net of individual‐level and neighborhood‐level control variables. It also explores the importance of contextual variables, particularly neighborhood foreign‐born concentration and collective efficacy, on residents’ perceptions of police procedural justice. Methods With a multi‐stage, clustered sample approach, we randomly selected census tracts in San José, California, and then households inside each tract were chosen to participate in a survey. We used multi‐level modeling to explore factors that were associated with procedural justice. Results Results show first‐generation immigrants, compared to second or third‐and‐plus‐generation immigrants, are more positive in their evaluations of police procedural justice. Results also show that neighborhood collective efficacy can significantly affect people's perceptions of procedural justice, even after controlling for individual‐level predictors and neighborhood characteristics. Conclusion Both individual‐level immigration measures and neighborhood factors should be included in future research.